CITY ROOM; Lost Property, Found Humanity: Tales of Precious Objects Recovered

Published: February 24, 2011

City Room this week related the story of Rudolph R. Resta's reunion with his lost wallet after 40 years. The idea that a lost object of extraordinary value might be returned by some good-hearted soul resonated with many people.

Following are several accounts from readers:

I met my partner through a lost wallet.

On my way to work, I dropped my wallet on the subway platform. It was found by a passenger waiting for the next train. There was very little inside except for a gym pass, some membership cards (including one for Channel 13), an expired New Jersey driver's license and $60. Luckily, the Samaritan worked at Channel 13. He was able to bribe, with doughnuts, one of his colleagues to look up my contact information. He called my mom, who -- getting a random call from a stranger -- would not give him my number directly but passed on the message.

It took us three months to finally agree to meet. After all the wild speculation about each other, it turned out that we were both in our early- to mid-30s, unattached and lived only one block from each other. I'm sure we passed each other on the street dozens of times. We slowly discovered that we had very complementary personalities, the same dry wit, and so many interests in common, it was a little scary.

Fast forward eight years and my Samaritan, Matt Uzzle, and I are still together. Oh yes, the cash was returned. And the wallet has a very special place on our bookshelves. Michelle Novak

In 1981, I was a detective instructor in the Police Academy on East 20th Street. A man from Florida who had been hired to clean sewers on Second Avenue came to the academy. He handed me a beautifully restored gold detective's memorial ring. He told me he had found an encrusted lump when he was cleaning a sewer on East 19th Street, cleaned it up (very well) and realized it must have belonged to a member of the Police Department, so he brought to the academy.

I was fascinated by his honesty. The ring had a detective's shield number engraved on it, so I went about contacting the Detectives Endowment Association. The ring belonged to the father of a police officer who told me his father (deceased) had lost it many years ago. I believe his name was Coyne. Ring and son were reunited. Brian Carroll One day 40 years ago, while spending the summer with my grandmother in Galveston, Tex., we stopped by the bank to make a deposit. She found a gold pen that had a man's name engraved on it.

Twenty-five years passed, and so did my grandmother. While cleaning out her desk, I came across the pen and tucked it away as a keepsake. A few more years passed. I did a Google search on the name. I found multiple matches, but one was in a town about 20 miles away. I called the gentleman and asked if he had banked at the particular bank in Galveston 35 years ago and if he had lost a pen with his name on it. I asked him the pen manufacturer's name, and he answered correctly. I told him I would send it to him.

Before sending it to him, I sent it to the manufacturer and had them completely restore it to its once-pristine condition. When I received it back, it looked brand new and I sent it to the original owner. The ingrate never contacted me to say thanks. Dale Catching My mother kept all the letters I received as a youth and in college. In 1968, I was a pen pal with a Marine in Vietnam. I recently found the letters he had written.

I was amazed at how interesting they were; how eloquent, intelligent and mature. He was very objective about why he was in 'Nam and what he was doing -- and he was also falling in love with the Far East. When I remember my own immaturity and self-absorption, I realized that I had little right to these wonderful letters and that I must return them to him or his family.

With the help of a Vietnam vets Web site, I was able to find him. It sounds as if he has had a wonderful life, with the travel he always wanted. He fell in love with a woman he met in Japan and is still in love with her after all these years of marriage. I just mailed the letters today to their new family. Kathryn Paul